In the past, televisions were supported either on a ground surface, such as a floor of a house, or by an entertainment system, which generally includes a plurality of support surfaces for supporting a television and a variety of other entertainment accessories, such as DVD players, VHS players, audio equipment, etc. Other electronic displays, such as computer monitors, were typically supported on a desk-top.
With the development of LCD, plasma, and other thin and lightweight electronic displays, such as, for example, televisions and computer monitors, the displays are capable of being supported in different manners. For example, these types of thin and lightweight display devices can be mounted directly to a wall of a house, office, or other structure. Also for example, a support may be connected directly to a wall and a electronic display may be connected to the support. Such supports enable the electronic display to be movable between a retracted position, in which the electronic display is near the wall, and an extended position, in which the electronic display is moved away from the wall. Also, such supports enable panning of the electronic display.
However, operation of such supports has been limited. More particularly, some of these supports are purely manual, thereby placing all the burden onto the user to move the support and connected electronic display. Also, some of these supports are purely motorized, thereby performing all movement of the support and connected electronic display by a motorized mechanism. Such completely motorized supports rarely position the support and connected electronic display in the exact desired location and oftentimes limit the number of positions in which a user can position the support and connected electronic display. Also, such completely motorized supports do not enable manual manipulation of the support or electronic display. Any attempt to manually adjust the support or electronic display will strip or otherwise damage the mechanical components within the support. Further, such completely motorized supports include a large quantity of moving parts, thereby elevating the consumer price of such supports and increasing the chance that malfunction will occur. When a malfunction does occur, the entire support must be taken apart or a professional must troubleshoot the issue, both of which create very high repair costs or at least are burdensome and time consuming to repair. Further yet, such completely motorized supports must occupy a particular extension distance from a wall before panning can occur. In other words, the panning motion is dependent on the extension position (i.e., distance from the wall) and cannot occur unless the support occupies the particular position. Again, these types of restraints limit the possibilities available to consumers.